Wednesday Sports games

Another bunch of games in both sports. I will actually cover them all this time, beginning with the...

Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Cam Ward were the goalies. Carolina opened the scoring with Derek Joslin recording his second of the season on the power play from Cory Stillman and Eric Staal. The Hurricanes added on with Jeff Skinner's 30th of the year, with Staal picking up another assist. Erik Cole made it 3-0 in the third period with his 25th of the campaign, and Staal was able to complete his sock trick. This would be the final, with Ward (42 save shutout), Staal, and Joslin earning the three stars.

North to Boston, where the Bruins hosted the New York Islanders. Rick DiPietro and Tim Thomas played in front of the nets. Boston opened up with just a second left in the first period on Shawn Thornton's tenth of the season, made possible by Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell. New York got on the board in the second period with Michael Grabner on the power play, his 32nd of the year coming on the power play from Blake Comeau and the goalie DiPietro. Dennis Seidenberg put the Bruins back on top with his seventh of the campaign, assisted by Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. Campbell also scored for Boston, his 13th of the season created by Adam McQuaid and Tomas Kaberle. Grabner put the Islanders back within a goal on his second of the game and 33rd of the year, a shorthanded tally with help from Josh Bailey and Ty Wishart. This 3-2 score would last throughout the rest of the game. Campbell, Grabner, and Thornton took the three stars.

Into New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Martin Brodeur took the starts. Ilya Kovalchuk got New Jersey out front first with his 30th of the season, assisted by Jacob Josefson and Mark Fayne on the power play. The Devils added on in the second period with Mattias Tedenby nailing his eighth of the year off of Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. Henrik Tallinder kept New Jersey going with his fifth of the season, guided in by Adam Mair and Rod Pelley. Jean-Sebastien Giguere played goal in the third period, relieving Reimer. Toronto got on the board with Phil Kessel on the power play his 31st of the year coming off of Joffrey Lupul and Matt Lashoff. Tyler Bozak added on for the Maple Leafs with a shorthanded (3 on 5) tally, his 15th of the season going unassisted. Elias sealed victory with his 20th of the year, an unassisted empty netter. With a score of 4-2, Kovalchuk, Tedenby, and Bozak were the three stars.

To Washington D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Florida Panthers. Scott Clemmensen and Semyon Varlamov stood in the creases. Washington opened early with a power play goal by Mike Knuble, his 24th of the season assisted by Brooks Laich and Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals extended their lead on the power play late in the first period, with Jason Chimera recording his tenth of the year, powered by Nicklas Backstorm and Laich. Washington kept going in the second period with Sean Collins' first of the campaign, helped along by Ovechkin. The Capitals also tallied in the third period, with Matt Hendricks registering his ninth of the season, thanks to Boyd Gordon and Jeff Schultz. Florida finally got on the board with a power play goal, David Booth's 23rd of the year, fueled by Sergei Samsonov and Clay Wilson. The Panthers got closer with the 19th of the season for Mike Santorelli, with Samsonov and Marty Reasoner providing the helpers. Ovechkin sealed the game at 5-2 with an empty net goal, his 32nd of the year, with Backstrom grabbing the lone assist. Varlamov (31 for 33 saves), Ovechkin, and Laich took the three stars.

Westward to Chicago, with the Blackhawks hosting the St. Louis Blues. Ty Conklin and Corey Crawford made the starts between the pipes. David Backes led off with his 31st of the season for St. Louis, helped out by T.J. Oshie and Andy McDonald. Oshie also scored for the Blues in the second period with his eleventh of the year, a power play goal from Alex Pietrangelo. Chicago got on the board with a Marian Hossa goal, his 24th of the season, with assists by His Skate, Patrick Sharp, and Nick Leddy. The Blackhawks tied it with Tomas Kopecky recording his 15th of the year, courtesy of Brent Seabrook and Chris Campoli. Leddy put Chicago in front with his fourth of the season, fueled by Duncan Keith and Jake Dowell. Chris Stewart found an equalizer for St. Louis in the third period by netting his 28th of the year, thanks to Matt D'Agostini and Patrik Berglund. The game lasted into overtime, where Jonathan Toews secured a 4-3 victory with his 32nd of the campaign, assisted by Keith and Brian Campbell. Toews, Leddy, and Stewart earned the three stars.

Up to Calgary, where the Flames hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Miikka Kiprusoff took control of the twines. Rene Bourque opened the scoring for Calgary with his 27th of the season in the second period, a power play goal powered by Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester. Jarome Iginla netted the next two Flames goals, his 40th and 41st of the year, with Mikael Backlund and Anton Babchuk producing the earlier even strength goal, and Alex Tanguay teaming up with Backlund to assist on the power play one three minutes later. Tanguay tallied as well for Calgary, his third period goal coming as his 22nd of the season, courtesy of Backlund, who wrapped up a sock trick, and Iginla. Edmonton got on the board with a Magnus Paajarvi goal, his 15th of the year, made possible by Andrew Cogliano. The Flames got the goal back with Curtis Glencross potting his 24th of the season, thanks to Greg Nemisz and Babchuk. Calgary secured a 6-1 win with Iginla completing his hat trick on his 42nd of the year, a power play goal guided in by Tim Jackman and Tanguay. Iginla, Tanguay, and Backlund took the three stars.

To Anaheim, where the Ducks hosted the San Jose Sharks. Antero Niittymaki and Ray Emery took the starts, although Emery split time with Dan Ellis. Anaheim struck first with a Corey Perry goal, his 48th of the season, coming from Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks extended their lead with Cam Fowler on the power play, his tenth of the year powered by Lubomir Visnovsky and Perry. Perry tallied again for Anaheim in the second period with his second of the game and 49th of the season, made possible by Ryan and Getzlaf. San Jose got on the board with Dan Boyle's ninth of the year, helped along by Kyle Wellwood and Douglas Murray. The Ducks got the goal back when Perry finished off his hat trick with his 50th of the season, a power play goal produced by Teemu Selanne and a sock trick clinching assist for Getzlaf. Selanne also added on for Anaheim with his 29th of the year, also coming on the power play via Fowler and Getzlaf. Anaheim added on again with Jason Blake's 16th of the season, a power play goal, guided in by Saku Koivu and the second sock trick man, Ryan. The Sharks made it 6-2, which would end up being their margin of defeat, in the third period with a Ben Eager goal, his seventh of the year, assisted by Andrew Desjardins and Torrey Mitchell. Perry, Getzlaf, and Selanne took the three stars with little difficulty.

Wrapping up for hockey in Los Angeles, where the Kings hosted the Phoenix Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov opposed Jonathan Quick in goal. Los Angeles got out front first with the 20th of the season by Jarret Stoll, aided by Dustin Brown. Phoenix tied it with a Lee Stempniak marker, his 19th of the year going down thanks to Taylor Pyatt and Vernon Fiddler. Pyatt put the Coyotes in front with his 18th of the season, made possible by Stempniak and Fiddler. The Kings tied it in the second period with Kyle Clifford's seventh of the year, assisted by Wayne Simmonds and Rob Scuderi. The tie lasted into a shootout where Los Angeles's two tallies from Michal Handzus and Stoll were enough to beat Phoenix's one from Radim Vrbata. Clifford, Stempniak, and Stoll earned the three stars.

Into the realm of baseball with...

The Tampa Bay Rays hosting the Los Angeles Angels. Dan Haren and Jeremy Hellickson took the starts. Los Angeles opened with Bobby Abreu belting a double to score Howie Kendrick. The Angels added on with an Alberto Collaspo solo shot in the fourth. B.J. Upton put Tampa Bay on the board in the fifth inning with his own solo home run. Los Angeles got back to work with Jeff Mathis in the sixth inning, doubling to knock in Mark Trumbo, who would single in the eighth inning to bring Vernon Wells safely home. The Angels capped it off 5-1 with a Torii Hunter single, scoring Maicer Izturis, although the greedy baserunner Peter Bourjos failed to make it to third safely. Haren got the win, Kevin Jepsen took the hold, and Hellickson was the losing pitcher. Collaspo and Upton were the top hitters. The Angels swept the series 2-0.

Onward to St. Louis, where the Cardinals hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kevin Correia and Chris Carpenter were on the mound. Pittsburgh opened the scoring with Ryan Doumit's double in the fourth inning, knocking in Lyle Overbay. Neil Walker added on for the Pirates in the fifth inning, with a solo home run. Overbay hit a ground rule double in the ninth inning, which scored Andrew McCutchen. St. Louis got on the board with a Yadier Molina double making it 3-1 as Lance Berkman crossed the plate, but they would score no more. Correia got the win, Evan Meek took the hold, and Joel Hanrahan made the save, while Carpenter was dinged with the loss. The Pirates claimed the series 2-1.

Down to Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez and C.J. Wilson battled atop the mound. Seattle got out front early in the second with Brendan Ryan's sacrifice fly to score Jack Cust. Texas replied in the bottom of the inning with David Murphy scoring on a Jack Wilson error, allowing Ian Kinsler to get aboard. Elvis Andrus also knocked a run in with a grounding into a fielder's choice, allowing Yorvit Torrealba to come around, but Wilson messed around again, and Mitch Moreland also scored. The Mariners got a run back on a fielder's choice by Michael Saunders, good to score Luis Rodriguez. Cust tied it with a single that brought in Milton Bradley. Moreland did work in the seventh, doubling to put the Rangers back on top as Murphy scored. Nelson Cruz doubled in the eighth for Texas, scoring Adrian Beltre and Michael Young, and the Rangers solidified the game as Cruz crossed safely after Brandon League's error that let Torrealba on. Hernandez took the loss, Wilson got the win, and Arthur Rhodes picked up a hold. Cust and Cruz were top hitters. The Rangers swept the series 3-0.

Back into Missouri, where the Kansas City Royals hosted the Chicago White Sox. Mark Buehrle and Jeff Francis got the ball. Kansas City opened in the bottom of the first with Alex Gordon doubling to bring in Melky Cabrera, and completing his trip on a Billy Butler single. The Royals did some more damage in the fourth inning with Alcides Escobar doubling to bring in Jeff Francoeur, and then crossing home on Brayan Pena's single, and advancement to second on a throwing error. Pena came home when Mike Aviles grounded into a fielder's choice. Ramon Castro got Chicago on the board in the seventh inning with a solo home run, backed up by Juan Pierre doubling to knock in Brent Morel. The White Sox got closer with a Carlos Quentin home run in the next inning. Kansas City replied in the bottom half of the inning with Aviles reaching on a Mark Teahen throwing error, which scored Chris Getz. Chicago did plenty of damage in the ninth inning, as Pierre scored on an Alex Rios single, Gordon Beckham scored on Paul Konerko's single, and Quentin doubled to score both Rios and pinch-runner Brent Lillibridge. The Royals, facing a loss, got a clutch double from Kila Ka'aihue to score Jarrod Dyson. The tie lasted into the twelfth inning, where Morel singled to knock in two runs, Quentin and Alexei Ramirez, and Pierre hit a sacrifice fly to bring in A.J. Pierzynski. This would make the score 10-7 for the White Sox over Kansas City. Matt Thornton blew a save, but Chris Sale grabbed the win, while on the other side of the ledger, Robinson Tejada had a hold, Joakim Soria had a blown save, and Sean O'Sullivan took the loss. Quentin and Escobar were the best of the batters. The series was split 1-1.

Speaking of Chicago, it was in the Windy City where the Cubs hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks. Armando Galarraga and Ryan Dempster were on the mound. Arizona was on the board in the third inning with Chris Young tripling to knock in Willie Bloomquist, before reaching himself as Alfonso Soriano botched the defensive play. Chicago tied it with a two run tater by Aramis Ramirez, with Marlon Byrd coming in safely as well. The Diamondbacks ravaged the scoreboard in the fifth inning with Bloomquist singling to knock in Gerardo Parra, followed by a Young double to knock Bloomquist in again, and Young made it to third on the fielding error by Geovany Soto. He would come in to score on Kelly Johnson's double. The Cubs got a seventh inning solo shot from Soriano. Arizona replied with Miguel Montero doing the same in the eighth. Tyler Colvin answered for Chicago with a groundout, scoring Starlin Castro to make it 6-4. This would be the final, with Galarraga taking a win, Juan Gutierrez grabbing the hold, and J.J. Putz taking the save, while Dempster was dinged with the loss. The Cubs did take the series 2-1.

To Denver, where the Colorado Rockies hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chad Billingsley and Jason Hammel opposed each other. Colorado opened in the first with Carlos Gonzalez doubling to score Seth Smith, and finishing his trip on a Jose Lopez single. Los Angeles got on the board with a solo home run by James Loney in the next inning. They continued in the third inning with Rod Barajas hitting a solo shot, followed by Casey Blake tripling to bring around Rafael Furcal before getting the last 90 feet on an Andre Ethier single. The Rockies got some runs back with a three run tater by Todd Helton, knocking in Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki hit his own two run shot out of the yard in the fourth inning. The Dodgers tried some late game heroics in the eighth inning with Juan Uribe drilling a groundout to bring in Matt Kemp, but they would lose 7-5. Billingsley took the loss, Hammel snagged the win, Franklin Morales and Matt Lindstrom had the holds, and Huston Street picked up the save. Barajas and Tulowitzki were the top batters. The Rockies took the series 2-0.

To San Diego, where the Padres hosted the San Francisco Giants. The Tims took the mound, with Lincecum opposing Stauffer. San Francisco busted open the scoring early with Aubrey Huff doubling to score Freddy Sanchez, followed by Buster Posey hitting a two-run homer to finish the trip for Huff. San Diego got on the board in the third inning with Nick Hundley hitting a solo home run. Huff hit an RBI-double in the fifth inning to score Andres Torres. The Giants got some more RBIs from Huff in the next inning with a single to score Brandon Belt, followed by Posey knocking in both Miguel Tejada and Sanchez, and Pablo Sandoval completing the trip for Huff with his own single. The Padres were teased in their half of the ninth inning, being allowed to have Brad Hawpe single and then Tejada commit an error to score Alberto Gonzalez. Chase Headley then knocked in a pair with his double, those being Orlando Hudson and Hawpe. This brought the score to its final of 8-4 Giants. Stauffer was the loser, while Lincecum picked up the win, and the save went to Ramon Ramirez. Posey and Headley were the top hitters. The series was split 1-1.

To New York, where the Yankees took on the Minnesota Twins, and the rain won. Carl Pavano and Freddy Garcia were supposed to pitch, but the game has been postponed.

We move to a dryer Baltimore, where the Orioles hosted the Detroit Tigers. Justin Verlander and Brad Bergesen were the pitchers. Detroit got out first with a second inning double by Alex Avila, knocking in both Brennan Boesch and Jhonny Peralta, and a two run homer in the fourth to bring in Victor Martinez. Baltimore replied in the bottom of the fourth with Derrek Lee sending a ball to the seats, knocking in Nick Markakis. The Tigers did some damage control in the fifth inning with back-to-back solo shots from Miguel Cabrera and Martinez. The Orioles did get a sixth inning RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero, scoring Brian Roberts, but the greedy old man was caught getting to second. Detroit made it 7-3 when Avila knocked in Ryan Raburn with a single. With this as the final, Verlander took the win and Bergesen took the loss. Avila and Lee were the top of the hitters.

Cleveland hosted the next game, with the Indians welcoming the Boston Red Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Mitch Talbot had the starts. Cleveland opened the scoring with Shin-Soo Choo's two run homer, also scoring Michael Brantley. Boston got on the board with a Marco Scutaro single to bring in David Ortiz, and Jacoby Ellsbury followed that up with a groundout to bring J.D. Drew around safely. The Indians replied in the bottom of the inning with Asdrubal Cabrera singling to score Matt LaPorta. Cleveland also did work in the sixth inning, with Brantley grounding into a fielder's choice, which scored Travis Buck, followed by Asdrubal blowing a three run shot out of the yard, which knocked in Jack Hannahan and Brantley. The Red Sox left a mark in the seventh inning with Adrian Gonzalez's two run homer, which scored Carl Crawford as well. Cleveland made it 8-4 with LaPorta's solo shot in the eighth inning. Matsuzaka took a loss, Rafael Perez got the win, and Tony Sipp recorded a hold. Gonzalez and Asdrubal were the top batters.

Into Philadelphia, where the Phillies welcomed the New York Mets. Mike Pelfrey opposed the Phillies fifth wheel, Joe Blanton. Philadelphia was the first on the board in the first inning, with Placido Polanco grounding out to second but scoring Shane Victorino, followed by Raul Ibanez singling to drive Ryan Howard back home. The Phillies did a little more in the second inning, with Victorino's groundout producing a safe passage home for Pete Orr. Philadelphia continued to do work into the third inning, with Howard hitting a solo home run, Blanton singling for two RBIs, which were Ibanez and Ben Francisco, and Polanco singling for Orr to cross safely once more. New York rediscovered scoring with a two run tater by Angel Pagan, bringing around Carlos Beltran. The Mets found an onslaught for the fifth inning, with David Wright singling to score Jose Reyes, Beltran doing the same for Willie Harris, Ike Davis doubling for two RBIs by Wright and Beltran, and Daniel Murphy's pinch hit single capping a five-run inning as Pagan crossed the plate. The Phillies broke the 7 all tie with Polanco singling for score Victorino and coming back home with Howard's single later in the fifth. Francisco secured a 10-7 victory with his solo shot in the sixth inning. Blaine Boyer was the unlucky loser, while Antonio Bastardo got the win, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson had holds, and Jose Contreras picked up a save.

Heading north to Toronto, where the Blue Jays hosted the Oakland Athletics. Dallas Braden and Jesse Litsch got the ball for the starts. Toronto was first on the board with Adam Lind doubling to score Yunel Escobar. Hideki Matsui answered in the fourth inning for Oakland with his two-run double, knocking in both Daric Barton and David DeJesus. The Blue Jays got back in front with a three-run tater from Travis Snider in the bottom of the inning, bringing around Juan Rivera and Edwin Encanrnacion. The Athletics tried to pull closer with Barton singling to score Coco Crisp. Toronto sealed a 5-3 victory with Aaron Hill's single, knocking in John McDonald. Litsch grabbed the win, Marc Rzepczynski bought a vowel with the hold he grabbed, and Jon Rauch had a save. Matsui and Snider took the top hitter status.

Down to Florida, where the Marlins hosted the Washington Nationals. Livan Hernandez and Chris Volstad played from the mound. Washington was on the board first in the second inning, with Ivan Rodriguez making base on a fielder's choice, allowing Rick Ankiel to make it across the plate. Ian Desmond then made it on base with a bunt bringing Danny Espinosa home, and Rodriguez scored on a Ryan Zimmerman sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Desmond doubled to score Rodriguez. Florida found runs in the fifth inning with Hanley Ramirez's double scoring Chris Coghlan, before John Buck cleared the bases with a triple, allowing Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, and Logan Morrison to all reach home safely. The Marlins kept it going in the sixth inning with Omar Infante scoring Greg Dobbs on a single, and Coghlan later scoring as Ramirez reached base on Desmond's error. Coghlan benefited again when Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly to score him, and bring the game to its final of 7-4 Florida over the Nationals. Chad Gaudin took the less, while the win went to Brian Sanches, Edward Mujica and Clay Hensley took holds, and Leo Nunez made a save. Desmond and Buck gained the top hitter award.

Back up to Ohio, where the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Houston Astros. Nelson Figueroa and Edinson Volquez played atop the mound. Houston opened the scoring with Brett Wallace walking with the bases loaded to force in Michael Bourn, followed by a single from Chris Johnson, knocking in Angel Sanchez and Carlos Lee, topped off by J.R. Towles single to complete the trip for Wallace. Paul Janish put Cincinnati on the board in the second inning with a single to drive in Jay Bruce. The Reds kept it up in the third inning with Scott Rolen doubling for two RBIs on Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto crossing the plate, followed by Chris Heisey reaching on Figueroa's error, which allowed Rolen passage home, and added on with Towles' fielding error allowing Bruce to steal third and score, and Heisey getting to third and then home after Janish threw a single into the field. Cincinnati did some more in the sixth inning with Drew Stubbs singling in Janish, Phillips knocking in Miguel Cairo, Votto hitting a ground rule double to score Stubbs, and Phillips crossing safely on Rolen's fielder's choice, which he made base on. The Reds topped it off in the eighth inning with Edgar Renteria knocking Phillips in with a single, and Bruce helping Votto reach as Sanchez misfielded the ball. The final was 12-4, with Figueroa taking a loss, Volquez grabbing a win, and a hold awarded to Logan Ondrusek.

Lastly, the Milwaukee Braves hosted the Atlanta Braves. Mike Minor was on the mound, as was Marco Estrada. Atlanta opened in the first inning with a Chipper Jones double to score Martin Prado. Milwaukee answered in the bottom half of the inning with Prince Fielder single to score both Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez. Yuniesky Betancourt helped for the Brewers in the fourth inning with a double to bring in Fielder. Milwaukee also tacked on some in the fifth inning with Fielder's single scoring Weeks again, and Mark Kotsay singling to bring Fielder the rest of the way around. The Braves pulled within one run on a three run homer by Jason Heyward, with Jones and Brian McCann also crossing safely. The final was produced here, at 5-4. Minor lost, while Estrada got the win, Zach Braddock and Kameron Loe got the holds and John Axford picked up the save. Heyward and Fielder were the top batters.

That's all. Tomorrow is the same deal as it has been lately.